The Army Boxing Thread

[binnie]

Anyone see the opening two fights of Showtime's 'Super Six' tournament?

[sonrisa salvaje]

Absolutely. Abraham's knockout of Taylor was classic. The Froch fight, however, was difficult to watch short of the roughhousing. Probably a little closer than the judges scoring indicated but no complaints here.

[binnie]

I actually has Dirrell winning by 2 rounds, but it could hardly be called a robbery. If Dirrell gets rid of his amateur habits - like complaining to the ref abotu anything remotely rough - and becomes a little more offensive, he'll be quite a force.

I'm not sure whether Abraham looked good or Taylor looked bad - the KO was brutal, but it was classless of him and his corner to start celebrating whilst Jermain was still on the flaw and clearly hurt. Abraham might end up winning this whole thing, it's got to be between him and Kessler...

[binnie]

This Saturday: Niccoli Valuev - David Haye - WBA Heavyweight Championship

How do you solve a problem like Valuev? Over seven feet tall and approxmiately 350lbs? Paradoxically, despite being as big as a barn door the Russian is hard to hit because his freakishly long arms allows him to keep his opponents at bay - probably the only real 'skill' he possess. Beaten only once - by Ruslan Chagaev - the dull giant has been a blight on the heavyweight division for almost a decade, and I imagine most fans would love to see him KTFO. 'Timmmmmmbeeeeeeeer'! Is David Haye the man for that job? Possibly. Haye has big power - he put Monte Barret down five times with blows that only GLANCED off him. He is also fast by heavyweight standards, which means he may be able to move in and out to grind Valuev down. However, punching almost 12 inches about your head will rob punches of steam, and having to deal with all of that weight bearing down on you is going to be draining - and Haye has only ever done 12 rounds once. It's a big ask, literally, and once compounded by the fact that Haye has only fought two heavyweights. David also doesn't have the best chin in the world, but there again, Valuev doesn't really have much power (ironic, huh?) All of this makes for an interesting matchup. I imagine that Haye will win the fight on points, but be robbed of the decision in Germany in much the same way that Evander Holyfield was last year. Let's just hope he lands a Hayemaker in the early rounds to KO the giant.

[Seshmeister]

I might watch this it looks like a laugh.

It reminds me of that shit Rocky film with the Russian, Rocky IV I think...

[sonrisa salvaje]

Looks like Haye is "messin' with Sasquatch."

[binnie]

David Haye won on points!

Finally, the end of Valuev - nice guy, but an embarassment to boxing. Haye did it one handed too (broke his right in round 2). Valuev barely laid a glove on him.

Very mature performance from Haye, and if it hadn't been for the ref getting in the way in the 12th it might have been a KO.

[binnie]

Chad Dawson UD Glen Johnson.

I actually thought that Johnson edged the fist fight, but Dawson left no room for doubt in this one. Slick boxing to a relatively unproblematic UD

[binnie]

5 days to Pacquiao-Cotto.

Who are you picking?

[jhale667]

5 days to Pacquiao-Cotto.

Who are you picking?

Pac-Man is the Energizer Bunny of boxing, but we've all seen Cotto get hit by a dude with bricks in his gloves and keep coming for 11 rounds, so should be interesting...

I think Cotto's going to edge out the win...and betting he hits a little harder than Manny's used to...

[binnie]

My thoughts exactly J.

I don't buy all the crap coming out of Manny's camp about him being distracted - that's just mind games. Nor do I buy all of th stuff about Cotto being a broken fighter - Clottey gives ANYBODY at 147lbs a hard nights work, and when the going got tough, Cotto edged out a win. That says that he still has mental toughness to me.

Cotto needs to go back to his old 'brawler' style for this fight, and just drag Manny into a war. There's no point trying to outbox a guy who's significantly quicker. It is also worth nothing that Manny has been vulnerable to the body in the past, and Cotto is the best body puncher at 147lbs - I think that will be significant.

In Miguel Cotto, Manny is not facing a slower than erosion David Diaz, weight drained self-parody of Oscar De La Hoya (who would have smashed both of these guys at his peak), or a one-dimensional Ricky Hatton. On Saturday, we find out just how good Manny is over 130lbs. It could be the birth of a legend; or, the bursting of a bubble.

[jhale667]

I'm thinkin' it's going to be more along the lines of "bursting a bubble", especially if Cotto does significant body work - and he probably will....

[binnie]

I tend to agree.

Manny does seem to have a lot of momentum about him at the moment, and speed kills. I just think that his recent bouts might have flattered him somewhat...

[sonrisa salvaje]

I agree guys. The only shot Manny has is to get in and get out with his flurries and then move away. If he stands in the pocket with Cotto and stays there, it is going to be trouble for him. The only thing is, if Manny comes out and goes slick boxer mode on Cotto and stays away in an effort to out-point Cotto, are people going to be dissapointed?

[binnie]

I think it will be a great fight, but at the same time it's almost inevitable that people will be dissappointed because there is so much hype.

If Cotto allows Manny to box then he's in BIG trouble - he has to impose his power on Manny, he can't win a battle of speed.